drupal4uic 2008 04 25
DESCRIPTION
Intro to Drupal given at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) by Leo Klein on Apr. 25, 2008.TRANSCRIPT
Introduction to
Drupal
by
Leo KleinWeb Coordinator
OAR, UIC
Leo Klein (Elevator Speech)
• Web Coordinator: OAR, UIC
• Colleges attended: UIC, Sorbonne, FU (Berlin), Queens College (CUNY), ITP (NYU)
• Jobs attended: Bobst Library (NYU), Newman Library (Baruch College, CUNY), COE (UIC)
• Interests: Web Design, Usability
• Personal Website: www.LeoKlein.com
• Blog: ChicagoLibrarian.com
HUGE DISCLAIMER
I Know What I Know
Small Disclaimer
It's 'Content Management' Not 'Content Organization'
Is it Time to CMS?
• Large amounts of similar data: events, news, other media, etc.
• Feature requests: calendar, forums, blogs, galleries, etc.
• Multi-user Environment: password-protected content, expanded range of people providing content
• Server-Side: Access to Server-side resources and someone to maintain system
Why Drupal?
(Druplicon)
Drupal in EducationAmherst College Ohio State - Math Dept.
Wash. Univ. – Arts & Sci. BYU – Comp. Sci.
Origin of DrupalOrigin of DrupalOrigin of DrupalOrigin of Drupal
Drupal Born – 2001*• Originally developed by Dries Buytaert and fellow
students at the University of Antwerp
• 2001 – Initial Release of Drupal
• 2004 – Drupal taken up by Dean Campaign
• 2005 to now: • High Profile Conversions (Onion.com,
Observer.com, Amnesty International)• From "Community Plumbing" to "Roll-Your-Own
Push Button CMS"
* More Info: http://drupal.org/node/769
Drupal.org
Resources from Drupal.org
Joys & Sorrows of Open Source
• It’s Free
• It’s Open
• It’s Innovative (sometimes)
• It’s "Scratch Your Own Itch”
• It’s Frustrating
• It's Fun
Types of Users
SW-HW*:
• Server running either Apache or IIS
• PHP (Scripting Language)
• MySQL or PostgreSQL
Human:
• Person comfortable installing the above three
• “Some assembly required”
Requirements
______* http://drupal.org/requirements
Drupal in 3 Parts
Drupal Core
• What You Get 'Out of the Box'
• Essential Features(Node, Block, Taxonomy,
Theme Engine, Comments, RSS)
• 'Legacy' Features(Story, Forum, Blog)
Contributed Modules
• "Building Blocks" of Drupal
• Hundreds to Choose from
• Most Essential Modules:• Content Construction Kit• Views• ImageCache• Organic Groups
Life & Death of a Drupal Module
Modules are built for a specific purpose and for a specific release of Drupal
How to Tell if a Module is Alive and Kicking -- or in the 'Deadpool':• Recent updates?• Recent Support Questions/Issues?• Attitude of Maintainers (Helpful or Not)?
ThemesAmor Azul Imagination
NewsFlash SEO Position
Drupal Roadmap
• Drupal 6.0 (Feb. 2008)• Improvements:
• Installation• Theming • Internationalization
• Drupal 7.0 (Feb. 2009?)• Incorporation of CCK & Views into Core
Drupal as a Community
• Open Source encourages - and requires – an open, responsive Social Organization
• Great team of Developers (some local in Illinois)
• Learn the terrain & benefit from It
Other Helpful Sites• Lullabot
Wonderful source for podcasts and other high quality information on Drupal - http://www.lullabot.com
• DrupalDojoExtensive collection of screencasts and other "lessons"http://drupaldojo.com
• Mastering Drupal Number of good screencastshttp://www.masteringdrupal.com/
• Dries Buytaert's BlogPersonal Blog of Drupal's Founder - http://buytaert.net
Drupal Groups
• Drupal in Education (378 members)http://groups.drupal.org/drupal-education
• Chicago User Group (General)http://groups.drupal.org/chicago
• Chicago Meetup Grouphttp://cdmug.org/
• Drupal4UIChttp://listserv.uic.edu/archives/drupal4uic.html
Leo Klein’s Drupal Tips
• Try "Sandboxes" at OpenSourceCMS.com
• Experiment locally
• Follow the forums at Drupal.org
• Join a Drupal Group (http://groups.drupal.org)
• Check out the competition
Ultimately: Bend the CMS to your needs (& not the other way around)
Happy Drupaling!
Leo Robert Kleinlrk 'at' uic 'dot' edu
msn/aim/ghoo/yhoo: 'leorobertklein'
www.LeoKlein.com